Postretrofit News and Analysis

Our house was built in 1951, but Michele and I have been living there since 2007. I’ve met the two previous owners. One was careful about keeping the house comfortable and efficient—the other not so much. Our first water bill after moving in reported that we were using 1,500 gallons of water a day. That explained the jungle greenery in the back, and the wet spot in the front yard. So our first big upgrade was fixing the leak between the water main under the street and the house.